Queer New World: Meet Brooklyn's Charmin Ultra

This is the eighteenth installment in an ongoing series that explores drag culture and the nightlife scene in Brooklyn, N.Y. Over the past several years, following the large-scale exodus of artists across the East River and into northern Brooklyn, those engaged in drag culture in this outer borough have created a new, queer world entirely their own. Accompanied by a larger movement to understand drag culture outside of the pageant circuit, many individuals engaged in the drag community in this borough approach drag culture through a nontraditional lens of "alternative" drag or performance art, enabled largely by the malleable and queer nature of this part of New York. Visit HuffPost Gay Voices regularly to learn not only about the individuals involved in Brooklyn's drag community, but more about the culture of the community itself.

The Huffington Post: How did you get your start in the drag world?
Charmin Ultra: Akron, Ohio, probably around 1995. I found my Mother's lipstick and it all went downhill from there. Then came [performance ensemble] Backspace. I met the most wonderful group of people while in the dance program at Ohio State. Back then, it was a much larger group and then we made the transplant to NYC and formed this wacky, performance-driven ensemble including myself, Mary Jo Cameltoe, Lil' Kimchi, The Duchess Tickles, Whisky Dixie, and Cherry Poppins. Krystal Something Something was at the helm with loads of collaborations from us all. We would get together in his living room and bust out a brand new show every Sunday at Sugarland for Sunday School with Backspace. The whole thing felt like a glitter-induced, blood rushing, music thumping dream.

Describe the drag scene and community in Brooklyn -- how is it different from drag culture elsewhere?
It's a playground. The fastest spinning tire swing of all. It is indeed a community, of ruthless, glamorous, beautiful artists celebrating the sheer fact that everyone survived last night. It's a wild roller coaster. I would not get back on for a regular ride, but man am I glad I got to go for a spin. It's like summer camp -- you form a bond with the people around you, all who have chosen to put themselves into the environment. No resume needed to be a part of this business, just a drive to create -- the rest is in the pudding.

What role do you see drag culture playing in the trajectory of the changing landscape of Brooklyn itself?
The two are changing simultaneously. The drag culture itself is driven by the changing landscape of people who move to or make work in Brooklyn. As more and more queer artists find their home in this beautiful borough the drag culture is becoming more dense and saturated. I spoke of the roller coaster in the last question, while I was emphasizing the party culture that goes hand in hand with drag it is also about amazing performers busting out original material on a regular basis. The Brooklyn Queer Art Scene Community of People Playing Around on Stage and in Bars and Stuff (that's an official term) is growing!

You're involved with "Sez Me," a web series that aims to break down the stigma of children being exposed to the LGBT community. What have your experiences been like surrounding this?
I was so excited when Mor Erlich asked me to hop on board with "Sez Me." For most of my drag life I have explored gender as a character in a nightclub setting. Nightlife is a great place to do this, raw and artistic, bubbling with people expressing themselves in so many ways. Although, as time went on, I was searching for another platform to explore identity and gender and this was the perfect way. Giving the younger generation the space to learn about and explore identity will hopefully allow for greater acceptance and understanding of themselves and the people around them.

Being human is fluid. When it comes down to it we are all the same pizza crust, each with our own combination of toppings (I identify as sausage, green peppers and onions).

Through "Sez Me" I hope to give the younger generation a reference I did not have growing up. I want to empower them to ask questions and not be afraid to express who they are. It is important because young people should be treated with respect and allowed knowledge of things that exist in this world. I want to help people understand that gender and sexual preference are not subversive decisions a person makes in a back alley. I want to emphasize the amount of love in the world and that everyone has the space to give and receive it.

In simpler terms: There's so many ways to be, There's so many you's and me's, there's so many ways to be. Sez Who? Sez Me.

How would you characterize the kind of drag that you do?
[Imagine] if Britney Spears were 70 years old, had a flare for absurdity and really thick eyebrows. I do the kind of drag that could go horribly wrong at any moment. I am a sucker for improvisation. It's like in the TGIF sitcoms when they would be on their way to Disney World, but couldn't make it because the house flooded or Mark wrecked the car or Michelle got Amnesia (f*cking horse), then the whole thing plays out and ends on a heartwarming note. That's the kind of drag I do.

What does it mean to you to be a drag queen or a drag performer? Do you consider what you do to be drag at all?
I do drag because it's gay and it's proud. Drag is the bridge. It lives in the absurd. Drag queens are the mascots of the queer community. We take something as complex as gender and show the world that the whole idea is grounded in perspective. We are not afraid to freak people out, we welcome scrutiny, we make fun of ourselves. We are like getting to know you games for people who have never seen a queer thing in their life. We are easy.

In terms of considering myself a drag queen, sometimes I enter the scene dressed like a lollipop, other times a killer clown, and sometimes I enter the stage Dressed As Girl.

Where can you be found throughout the week?
Tortilleria Tres Hermanos on Starr and Wyckoff. I do a weekly show there called Lunch. It is mostly just me and my friend Jeremy Bennett eating tacos, but feel free to come hang out and eat with us.

Any parting words?
Take the part you least like about yourself, dress it up and show it off, make it beautiful.

Missed the previously featured drag performers and installments in this series? Check out the slideshow below.

Also on The Huffington Post

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Queer New World: Brooklyn Drag Culture

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"The Brooklyn queer scene is a conglomeration of love and energy that is executed beautifully. It's so much more than drag queens lip-sycing; it's a cultural shift in attention to the outskirts of Manhattan... Brooklyn has always done whatever the hell it wants."
--Scarlet Envy, Host Of "Scarlet Fever" at This N' That

"That is the evolution of drag: Do you and hope they love it... Be you and forget the rest. If I lived my life how my family and society told me how I should, I would be a closeted, nine to fiver, sitting in a white office."
--Merrie Cherry, Host of "DRAGnet" at Metropolitan Bar.

"Brooklyn, particularly, now happens to be a hotbed for so many types of creative individuals and those hungry to both experience and create culture. In this need there are a lot of opportunities for people to insert themselves in the conversation, and in many cases create a sense of family and long-lasting friendship with all of those involved."
--Untitled Queen, Drag Artist and Performer

"The queens in Brooklyn don't like to repeat numbers or looks, and we all go to see one another's shows, so there's a lot of incentive to be innovative... I would really hope that the inclusivity of the Brooklyn drag scene represents the future of drag, because people of all genders and body types deserve to be queens if they want to be."
--Amber Alert, Drag Artist and Performer

"We ignore all the rules. We say yes when someone else says no. This provides everyone in Brooklyn with a stage they can call their own; they don't have to worry about their performance being good or bad, they just have to worry about their performance being their own. We are shaping and constructing drag by thinking outside of the typical, sequined box."
--Cher Noble, Drag Artist and Performer

"Never in a thousand years would I have thought I'd be part of a huge drag movement. We are the future."
--Horrorchata, Bushwig Co-Founder and Host Of "Be Cute" at One Last Shag

"I keep thinking we need some kind of radical community guidelines, to form a communal space or, like Warhol, create a Factory. Make our own culture, rather than join one. I think if this happens it would definitely shape drag culture in a more direct way."
--Babes Trust, Bushwig Co-Founder

"Bushwig is an event that not only acknowledges and honors its predecessor, Wigstock, but also forges new ground with the electric energy of a community living in Brooklyn and beyond... [it] represents what is wild about drag, what is interesting about north Brooklyn, and hopefully new practices in community culture, in and out of a drag context."
--Untitled Queen and Trey LaTrash

"I think drag culture in Brooklyn is really eclectic and, in a lot of ways, Brooklyn is revising what drag means for a new generation. Sometimes that means being really political: challenging sexism/racism/classism/ableism or other systems of oppression. Sometimes that means moving away from pageant notions of drag or from ideas about imitation or impersonation in favor of gender fucking. Sometimes, especially for us, it means really tight choreography and just a celebration of dapper queer bodies -- one that is both a commentary on definitions of masculinity and an important challenge to the idea of female masculinity as undesirable."
--K.James, Drag King and Performer

"I think Brooklyn is really, or at least it should be, pushing drag forward. We should be at the forefront of what's next, and I think for the most part we are -- always striving for something new and different, bigger and better. I mean, come on! It's New York City, its 2014 -- lets not be basic ladies! Keep an eye on Brooklyn, because we're coming for the world. But I guess since it's Brooklyn you should probably keep the other eye on your purse."
--Lady Simon, Drag Artist and Performer

"I think the essence of drag is saying no. Your body says, 'You’re a man,' and you say, 'No.' Your head says, 'You’re going to go bald now,' and you say, 'No.' Society says, 'Who do you think you are, faggot? Go get AIDS and die,' and you say, 'No, fuck you -- for the next five minutes I AM Beyonce and I OWN society.' To the command that we all be more pious and more polite and more serious and more respectful, the drag response is to say, 'No.' Because we’ve seen your piety, and we’re not impressed. Your piety is just more drag."
--Hamm Samwich, Drag Artist and Performer

"My hope is that [our Drag Collective 'Switch and Play' will] bring in a whole new generation of drag performers in a nurturing and growing environment. Eventually I would like to set up a 'dragucation' program that will help aspiring performers harness their inner drag and set forth to inspire future generations to come!'
--Crimson Kitty, Drag Artist and Performer

"When I look around I see so many artistic descendants of Lou Reed, Claude Cahun, Lucas Samaras, Jayne County, The Divine David, Jack Smith, The Cockettes, Miss Guy, and countless other legendary gender pushers. What I think is coming through the most in Brooklyn drag culture from the overall arc of drag history is the desire to pull apart, rearrange, experiment and distort ideas of gender.
It’s like with painting, once we achieved realism as far as it could go (and still be interesting) we started playing with form and application."
--Chris of Hur, Drag Artist and Performer

"Gender is a complex animal, part nature, part nurture and part mystery. If more people allowed themselves to play around with what they thought the acceptable range of personal expression to be (in terms of identity, attire, creativity), we would all have more more self-love and compassion for everyone... Playing around with gender -- this thing we’ve been falsely taught is fixed, inherent and reliant on binaries -- is one of the keys to liberation."
--Goldie Peacock, Drag King and Performer

"Alotta Stuff is a drag, well, dragg-ier version of 'Antique Roadshow'/Black Friday/Neighborhood Brooklyn Stoop Sale/Aladdin's cave. Inside the comforts of an old standard gay dive bar in Brooklyn, you can uncover some hidden jewels of sequin monstrosities while sharing a drink with a pal or some cute boys/girls. Instead of a blue genie, you get two larger-than-life drag queens, Alotta McGriddles and Thorgy Thor [pictured], as your spirit guides. It's all chill and cute until your best friend tries to outbid you on that silk Picasso-inspired '90s jacket that you know looks better on you."
--Untitled Queen, Drag Artist and Performer

"Brooklyn, as far as nightlife goes, has always represented a sort of counter culture to the already eccentric NYC nightlife scene. When I first learned of all the annual events dedicated to awarding nightlife greats, there was definitely a void of recognition that came with being from the Brooklyn scene... BK artists take pride in just how free their minds are permitted to be while on stage, despite what they may walk away with at the end of the night, simply because NO ONE will tell them 'no, that doesn't work' -- ever. There's a sense of freedom and rebellion here, even within a community already considered so far left. There have been many competitions and pageants, but nothing in my time here this major!"
--Mocha Lite, 2013 Drag Queen of the Year

"All I can say is it's a new era of drag and performance and the Brooklyn scene is coming in like a bunch of game changers. Manifesting art and trash as one, beauty with poor taste, and mixing the gender binary black and white with a technicolor spectrum that is unlike anything I've ever seen."
--Manifestany Squirtz, Brooklyn Drag Artist and Performer

"[Brooklyn is] a playground. The fastest spinning tire swing of all. It is indeed a community, of ruthless, glamorous, beautiful artists celebrating the sheer fact that everyone survived last night. It's a wild roller coaster. I would not get back on for a regular ride, but man am I glad I got to go for a spin. It's like summer camp -- you form a bond with the people around you, all who have chosen to put themselves into the environment. No resume needed to be a part of this business, just a drive to create -- the rest is in the pudding."
--Charmin Ultra, Drag Artist and Performer

"A lot of us don't look as good as other places, and maybe not many of us have good jobs, but we try hard and have fun... It's all about staying true to yourself. I like to look slutty and like garbage, which are the pillars of my aesthetic, but other than that I like to branch out. Whatever the theme is, I just translate it to my personal style and add something like a silly hat, or change my hairstyle or what have you."
--Macy Rodman, Drag Artist and Host of "BathSalts" at Don Pedro

"The performance community can be somewhat segregated. There are so many ways for a performer to express themselves and most of the time performers stay in their group. Once in awhile the groups come together for special events and in the last year you see it even more. I hope Mr(s) Williamsburg will help to thin that divide. We are a family of people that are living our dream as performers. It is already hard to make it -- we should be the ones to further all of our careers and create better stability, in every since of the word."
--Merrie Cherry, Drag Artist and Mr(s) Williamsburg Founder

"We are a bunch of creative types all pursuing our dreams in New York, and doing that doesn't always leave you with much money to live off of, which has brought us to Brooklyn. Here we try as hard as we can with the little that we have to do it with. It makes us push our creativity to make something out of nothing, which has now created an aesthetic of its own that has almost become a brand at this point. We are all just doing what we want and trying to engage and entertain our audience."
--Severely Mame, Drag Artist and Performer

"Like any tight community, there are people who like each other and people who don't. Here, there is a special home for misfits found even amongst other misfits. I've seen performances done on stages in Brooklyn receive standing ovations that in other parts of New York might only be granted raised eyebrows... It is simply just that feeling of wild abandon with the pedal to the metal, everything flourishes no matter how seemingly garish and I adore that."
--Mocha Lite, Host Of 'BOOM Saturdays!' At This N' That

"I feel like this thirst for freedom and value found in winning the competition of tangible bizarre has produced something specific to this area. I see a lot of boundaries being pushed and a lot of lines being crossed but most of it seems to be done in a way that is sensitive and respectful in the long run. Maybe that is queer mentality."
--Trey LaTrash, DJ, Promoter and Designer

"As an artist, I think it's important to understand that good work comes in waves. Every time you are on top of the world, know that the wave will subside, then come back again. Keep going. Keep creating. And be ready for that wave. Don't lose yourself during a low tide, but rather throw your energy into preparing for the opportunity around the corner. Treat everyone you meet with respect on your way to the top, because you may need their help on the way down... and please wear deodorant and have good breath while working in nightlife."
--Thorgy Thor, Legendary Brooklyn Drag Artist